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‘Kevin (Probably) Saves The World’ S1 Ep 7 Review: Team Kevin

“Dave” delivers another emotional roller coaster. There’s a new celestial being in town and his methods are much riskier than Yvette’s. Amy enlists handsome help to figure out Reese’s miraculous rescue. Kristen and Kevin grow closer over his new heartbreaking mission. Plus, Nate entertains the idea of asking Amy out.

Welcome to Team Kevin.

Kevin has set up a murder board of clues from all the visions he’s had so far. Yvette doesn’t understand how this ridiculous display will help them. Suddenly, Dave appears and is on the same wavelength as Kevin. Yvette is taken aback, but Kevin is excited to have someone new on his team.

Before giving Dave the green light, the two celestial beings have an aside in Italy. (I want to go to there!) Dave is living it up. He likes Earth and doesn’t want to see it destroyed. If Kevin is their only hope, then he needs all the help he can get. Maybe if Kevin tracks down another righteous soul, the other celestial beings will be motivated and get back to work. His argument sounds fair enough, so he gets to stay.

Soon we realize that Dave and Yvette have very different methods of mentoring. When the house falls apart, providing Kevin with clues on his new case (we’ll get to that in a moment), Dave repairs the damages so that Amy is none the wiser.

Does this mean Kevin won’t look like a basket case all of the time? Yvette forces him to come up with crazy excuses, so this is a refreshing change. Like Dave says, it’s not Kevin’s fault that the Universe messed up Amy’s house. But everything Dave does isn’t so swell.

He teaches Kevin to live on the wild side. Since he is under Yvette’s protection, Kevin can live like a cartoon character if he wants to. No matter what he does, he knows that no harm will come to him. Next thing you know, Dave has Kevin speeding through a congested intersection and Yvette has to pause all traffic. It is cool in theory, but we wouldn’t want Kevin to make a habit of such behavior. It would be really easy to lose sight of the task at hand and get caught up in silly shenanigans.

However, Dave’s carefree outlook on life does end up helping Kevin with his case. As it turns out, it doesn’t hurt to add another perspective to the mix. It will be very interesting to see what Dave has to add to the team in future episodes. Plus, Sasso is so fun to watch!

Whoa mama!

Kevin’s latest case hits really close to home. He starts off thinking he’s supposed to help Kristin’s mom, Susan (Anjali Bhimani), repair her house. Once he’s in her home, Kevin discovers that there is much more to his mission than he bargained for.

Susan is dying from cancer. Treatment hasn’t been helping and she wants to go out on her own terms. Poor Kristin is devastated and tries convincing her mom to pursue different treatments instead of giving up. We learn a lot about their mother-daughter dynamic, which makes this ‘Kevin’s’ most heartbreaking episode yet.

With Dave’s guidance, Kevin realizes that the uptight teacher and disapproving mother he grew up with really needs to cut loose. Surprisingly, Kevin’s mission is to help Susan have fun. She starts off by exacting revenge on the punk who trashed her front lawn back when Kevin was a teenager. Poor Kev was blamed for something he didn’t do and now he gets a bit of payback too.

Kristin is appalled and confused by her mother’s behavior. She is also frustrated with Kevin for encouraging this rebellious streak. While Kevin and Susan are day drinking, Kristin has to go clean up their mess.

Kevin lends her a hand and gets her to see things from Susan’s perspective. Even if Kristin understands her mom, she’s still not ready to lose her. India de Beaufort shines in this episode, delivering a very moving, beautiful and heartbreaking performance. She pours her heart out, telling Kevin: “She’s my best friend…She didn’t skip a beat…I can’t fight for her?” (I’m not crying. You’re crying.)

Is it selfish of Kristin to want her mom and BFF to live longer? I don’t think so. Susan understands too. Under these circumstances, all they can do is cherish the time they have left to spend with each other and make the most of it. So Kristin bends to her mom’s will and joins her in smashing down the walls of their house with some sweet ‘Demolition Man’ action.

*FEELS*

Dating game.

During their regular family game night, Chloe and Kevin notice some sweet chemistry between Nate and Amy. They are totally flirting with each other! The next day, Kevin calls him out on it and encourages Nate to ask Amy on a date. “Grab, squeeze and twist,” as Kevin interestingly puts it. Jason Ritter is just too funny!

Nate is such a thoughtful gentleman. He asks for Reese’s permission first. So cute! She shuts him down. Not because she doesn’t want Nate dating her mom, bust because Amy isn’t ready to date yet. Or is she?

While Kevin is working on his mission with Susan, his sister is trying to solve her own mystery. Amy wants to make sense of that miraculous catch. While chatting to her colleague about it, Iggy (a theology professor) overhears and offers some insights of his own.

Eventually, Iggy and Amy return to the scene of Chloe’s catch and try to find a scientific explanation. They discuss the intersection of miracles and science. Things start to get a little flirty. They don’t get any definite answers, but Iggy made a discovery: he’d like to take Amy out on a date. Wow. Amy is having a big week!

Poor Nate! This is a sucker punch to the gut for him. Reese doesn’t think her mom is ready, but Amy said yes. Guess we’ll just have to see how the date goes before we know for sure.

Iggy isn’t a bad guy, but come on…Team Nate all the way. Right?!?

Be happy.

Susan sadly passes away. Kevin stops by the house to continue his mission and learns the news from Kristin’s brother. Hours later, Kristin finds herself at Kevin’s, seeking comfort. These two just seem to gravitate towards each other. I love that she turns to him in this moment. He understands how she feels. She probably didn’t open up to anyone else like that during her mom’s illness. Kevin was there at their worst and he made it better…for both of them.

Kristin admits that Susan was happy and that’s all we can really want in life. All the struggles, fears, disappointments, frustrations, worries….the whole human experience essentially boils down to the pursuit of happiness. In a way, that is the business Kevin finds himself in. During each mission, he brings strangers a little more happiness in their lives.

She tearfully rests her head on his shoulder and they bask in the beauty of the sunset. As the sun meets the horizon, Kevin has a new vision. We don’t know what to make of the flames, but now we think that being there for Kristin was his true mission.

This was a bit of a two-in-one situation, probably because mother and daughter were so close. If he was there for Susan, he should be there for Kristin too. This wonderful episode delivered goosebumps throughout and was full of brilliant performances.

Dave

How do you feel about Dave? Do you have mixed feelings? Is he a bad influence on Kevin? Sure, he seems fun, but is he right for Kevin? Yvette knows him so well. She may be more reserved, but she always tries to do what’s best for everyone in any situation. Plus, she keeps Kevin focused and makes sure he stays on the right track. Dave seems to be full of distractions.

Looks like we’ll learn a bit more about Dave in the next episode. Let’s hope he doesn’t cause Kevin any trouble.

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* Watch live. If you DVR the show, then watch the commercials. If you fast forward, it won’t count for full ratings. Probably because it ties in to advertisers.

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